Preventing Summertime Water Damage in Your Home

Preventing Summertime Water Damage in Your Home

There’s a big emphasis on water during the summer months—it’s literally all around us, from swimming pools and sprinkler systems, to ever-present water bottles and beyond. Once place you don’t want to see water, however, is pooling on the floor alongside your fridge or cabinets!

Summertime flooding and water damage in Montana is a real thing, and it’s not just the torrential summer storms that bring about water damage in homes: it’s also plumbing fixtures that have finally worn down or compromised. It works like this:

In the olden days, plumbing used to be made with copper or steel, however in recent years, PVC and PEX have replaced these materials because they’re cheaper and offer more versatility. The problem with these plastics, however, is that they tend to experience wear and tear faster—especially at fittings and junctions. In the summer time, the air becomes hot and humid, which causes the materials to expand… and if a fitting is compromised, the expanding plastic could crack or break, causing a leak.

More often than not, compromised plumbing occurs at critical junction points near appliances, since this is where they see the most strain. As a result, your fridge or dishwasher may start pooling water on a particularly hot day! This is a major problem in and of itself… however things can get worse.

If you’re not around to catch a leak right away, your water troubles are going to continue. Pooling in the same area over time means saturation of the material, which can lead to mold growth, among other problems. Worst of all, however, is a leak that affects a wood floor. Wood flooring will warp, bend and even rot if you don’t catch the leak quickly and, as you very well may know, wood isn’t cheap to fix or replace!

So what can you do? How do you stop leaks from occurring and what can you do to fix them once you find them? The answer is actually quite simple: inspect your fittings! Go around to your major appliances and known plumbing junctions and make sure everything looks good, is secured tightly and doesn’t show any signs of water or accumulate moisture. If you’re not comfortable doing this, a plumber can absolutely take care of it during a home inspection.

If you find any suspect fittings in your inspection, don’t hesitate in replacing them—it’s better to be safe than sorry. All you’ll need to do is turn off your water, drain any excess water into a bucket, replace the fitting, secure everything back in place and turn your water back on. Again, a plumber can do this for you as well without issue.

Summertime flooding is a real thing, even if it’s not happening in your basement. Make sure you’re avoiding the perils of water damage in Montana by checking your fittings and taking the time to keep a keen eye out for any creeping water. Taking the time to do these simple things could save you big bucks in the long run.